New Delhi, northern parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains, eastern coastal states, western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and adjoining areas will see a higher than normal number of heatwave days this year, a senior India Meteorological Department official said on Monday.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD, highlighted that there are regions vulnerable to weather conditions where temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius, even in areas that may not witness heatwaves.
“There are climate vulnerable areas. For example, the normal temperature in Vidarbha district is around 41 to 42 degrees Celsius at this time of the year. Likewise, the normal temperature in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana is 40 to 44 degrees Celsius in the month of May,” he said.
“Therefore, we must be prepared for such high-temperature days,” he added.
When asked about the measures taken by the IMD to help vulnerable residents, the IMD chief said that in addition to setting up WhatsApp groups to distribute information among outdoor workers such as street vendors and laborers working in the fields, display boards indicating the occurrence of heat and expected actions to be taken have also been put up.
“The aim is to reach everyone and provide forecast information created by IMD. We are providing the information through government channels, including the National Disaster Management Authority’s Joint Alert Protocol, which enables anyone with a mobile phone to access the information,” Mohapatra said.
He noted that there are certain sectors where people may or may not have access to mobile phones or instant access to IMD alerts, adding that there is still scope to reach these heat-affected people through innovative or traditional means.
Referring to the example he cited during his address at the World Heat and Refrigeration Forum on Monday, the IMD president said: “Associations of auto rickshaw pullers, hawkers and domestic workers in Delhi met with us last year and requested information. We provided it via WhatsApp to the secretaries of their associations, who then communicated it to their members. Display boards were also put up indicating the occurrence of heat and expected actions to be taken.”
According to Mohapatra, temperatures are expected to rise every year, especially during the months of April and May, and the period before the arrival of the monsoons, although there may be certain differences from year to year.
To address annual and daily temperature variations, the IMD provides heatwave forecasts one season in advance, followed by extended range forecasts valid for the next four weeks every Thursday. A daily seven-day warning is also provided district-wide during the summer months.
The IMD released its first heatwave forecasts and summer temperature forecasts for March, April and May by the end of February, which were further updated for April, May and June on the last day of March.
According to the IMD forecast, a heatwave is expected in the months of April, May and June in many places, especially in the northern coastal states like the southern parts of West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas like Chhattisgarh and Telangana in the east.
The Meteorological Department said that a heat wave is also expected in the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Haryana, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, southern parts of Rajasthan, some parts of Gujarat, southern parts of Madhya Pradesh and northern parts of Maharashtra.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
